New York 4 Atlanta 1 | Final
Like so many of the seasons that have preceded it, 2018 limps into the dark with a whimper. It’s been a lost season for so long, it’s hard to know whether nights like last night — a tight game where the Mets matched an elite team inning after inning before exploding with some timely hitting — are heartening or even more devastating, given the brutal summer that preceded it. But here we are. Again.
Jason Vargas held the National League East champions scoreless, allowing only three hits and striking out six; he went into the seventh inning for the first (and last) time this season, and in his last start finally pitched like the player the Mets had paid for in the offseason. He will finish the year 7-9. His effort was helped by two great stops by Amed Rosario at short, and Robert Gsellman pitched into and out of trouble in the ninth for his 13th save.
All of the Mets four runs came off homers by catchers, a Kevin Plawecki solo shot in the third off Atlanta starter Julio Teheran (six innings, one run, five strikeouts), and a Devin Mesoraco three-run pinch-hit home run in the seventh off reliever Brad Brach.
The Mets host the Marlins for the final games of the season, with Corey Oswalt (3-3, 6.08) facing Jose Urena (8-12, 4.07). First pitch is 7.10 p.m.